The St. Louis Cardinals are seeking to rebuild their team. The team hopes to rebound next season after a dismal 2023 season marred by injury and unhappiness. They have a lot of skill on their squad, but they struggled last year. Perhaps part of the difficulty was the retirement of long-time catcher Yadier Molina after 2022.
In light of this, the Cardinals are reshuffling their catching staff. Willson Contreras played the majority of St. Louis’ games, leaving no opportunity for . According to Jon Heyman, the Cards are seeking for a new face for their team, as indicated by their decision to release backup Andrew Knizner.”Andrew Knizner, non-tendered by the Cardinals, enters the free agent catcher market at the age of 28 with upside on both sides of the ball.” In STL, I never had many opportunities. In 2023, he was still ranked 13th in ISO among Catchers. Was well-liked for his pitching staff game preparation.”
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Knizner will not be able to play for the Cardinals because Contreras is the primary catcher. The catcher showed some promise in the few occasions he saw any burn on the field. He had a.241 batting average, but he was much better against right-handed pitchers. Knizner might be of interest to a team wanting to develop a quality batter from the catcher position.
The Cardinals’ roster is loaded with talent. Aside from Contreras, they have two MVP candidates in Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, as well as a slew of good hitters all over the field. Perhaps a new season will be more successful than the disastrous 2023 campaign.
